The Best Of Frugal Asian Finance In 2017

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I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday.

Mr. FAF and I hosted a hotpot party at our house on Christmas Eve.

Nothing makes us happier than having good food with our family and friends.

As I am writing this post, I feel a bit nostalgic that 2017 is almost behind us, and that we’re just a few days away from 2018.

To wrap up the year of 2017, today I will do a roundup of the most popular posts of Frugal Asian Finance in 2017.

The metric I use is the number of pageviews. I will also reveal some of my biggest surprises for the year.

1. 5 Things We Refuse To Do To Save Money

Mr. FAF and I love making and saving money. We believe that frugality is a beautiful thing as long as we don’t overdo it.

In fact, there are 5 things we refuse to do to save a couple of dollars here and there.

While some readers could relate to us, some also stated that they still do some of the things I mention in the post.

I think it’s a matter of personal preferences, and that we should do what works best for us and our family.

2. April 2017 Food Expense Report – $80.39

Before Mr. FAF came back to DC, I used to spend less than $100 on groceries a month.

The main reason for this seemingly starving food budget is that I was on a diet. My portion was 1/3 or even 1/4 of what it used to be.

I also ate much less meat and incorporated inexpensive yet healthy ingredients such as eggs and black beans. The end result of this process was my 40.5 lb weight loss and hundreds of dollars saved in grocery shopping.

3. “If It’s Yellow, Let It Mellow” – Is It Worth It?

What happened to this post was the biggest surprise that I had in 2017. We all have heard of the phrase “If it’s yellow, let it mellow,” but how much money can we save exactly if we didn’t flush the toilet every time we do #1?

Intrigued by that question and determined to find the answer, I did some quick research online and did some basic math to find the answer.

I was so close to not publishing this article. First, it was about one of the most mundane topics you can possibly think of: flushing the toilet. I mean, who cares?

Second, it is one of the shortest posts written on my blog (fewer than 500 words). I remember vividly trying to force myself to come up with more text to make it 1,000 words. But I simply got lazy and just went with the flow.

After publishing the post, I was shocked at the amount of traffic and feedback it generated. And best of all, it was featured on Rockstar Finance! I’m not gonna lie. Being featured on Rockstar Finance was my dream.

I had spent more time writing other posts and hoped that they would get featured, but they never did. And this yellow-mellow post just got picked up by one of best personal finance websites on earth? What?! I’m still not over that shock yet.

I’m so glad I overcame my insecurity and let my laziness lead the way every once in a while. Life of full of surprises, and this one is undoubtedly one of them.

4. How I Lost 36 Lbs With A Cheaper Diet

This post went viral not only on Pinterest but also on Reddit (shared by someone else). I almost let my self-doubt prevent me from writing and publishing this article. I thought to myself that no one would be interested in my boring diet.

But the post proved me wrong. And I didn’t my being so wrong at the time.

5. 3 Weird Things We Do To Save Money

Mr. FAF and I like to think of ourselves as normal. Although we try not to worry too much about what other people think of us, we also don’t want to stick out like a sore thumb and get stares everywhere we go.

That said, we have done some really weird things to save money. Some were done out of necessities, and some are our own choices. Check out the post to see what they are.

6. Why We Sent Our Baby To China

Many people have asked me why we sent Baby FAF to China and what it was like living so far away from our baby for more than a year. In this post, I explained the reason and discuss the challenges of not living with our baby for so long.

7. How Hubby & I Discovered We Will Be Millionaires By Doing One Thing

I always thought of becoming millionaires as a far-fetched dream for us. I have seen other personal finance bloggers achieve this great milestone, but it just sounded so out of reach to me.

It wasn’t until I plugged in some numbers and figured out one sure way Mr. FAF and I can become millionaires one day. And it’s something you can do too!

8. When You Are Ashamed Of Being Poor

I grew up poor and was ashamed of it until much later in my life. It’s not something I’m proud of. But it’s the reality and is something I would like to be open and honest about.

There’s no need in hiding my true feelings, especially after I have realized I have a much better way to live my life and be proud of who I am as a person.

9. List of Asian PF Bloggers

As a female Asian blogger, I was always curious about who else out there was an Asian bloggers. I embarked on a project that took me hours to finish but provided so much gratification that I had a hard time putting it on hold for now.

10. When Frugality Goes Wrong

I wrote this post after a major incident happened that made me bed-ridden for days. I then realized that extreme frugality does not always yield positive results, especially when it comes to important matters such as our health and sanity.

I learned it the hard way but have become wiser after such experience.

Conclusion

There you have it: a look at the highlights of Frugal Asian Finance in 2017. I want to thank Joe at Retire By 40 and Mr. Tako at Mr. Tako Escapes for the inspiration for this post.

I hope that there will be more highlights and pleasant surprises awaiting my blog in 2018. I will be sure to give you an update this time next time.

Happy New Year!

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